China Roster Announced
A few housekeeing things before we get to the headline information.
I’m sure many of you read Tony Jackson’s blog on the Daily News website, which is a good source for a beat writer’s perspective on day-to-day life in the bigs. Yesterday, he kindly pointed out that the new 2008 Information Guide has been published and is available for our media to help them cover the team (it will also be for sale this year at the Top of the Park Gift Shop and the Dodgers Clubhouse Shop at Universal CityWalk).
Tony mentioned the images on the cover, as well as the inclusion of Chan Ho Park, so I figured I’d explain the reasoning. As part of the 50th anniversary celebration this year, we’ll be highlighting a number of things, including the organization’s role historically in the pioneering of baseball in America and around the world. Whether it’s Jackie Robinson, Sandy Koufax, Fernando Valenzuela, Hideo Nomo, or Chan Ho Park the Dodgers have a history of being the first, or among the first, to reach various races, religions, and countries in spreading the game of baseball. Hence the reason why Chan Ho Park, the first Korean in Major League history and the team’s last 18-game winner, is on the cover with so many Dodger legends.
And while we’re on the subject of spreading the game internationally, we are announcing our roster for the two-game series in China and here it is:
Pitchers (12)
Falkenborg, Hull, Koplove, Kuo, Miller, Orenduff, Park, Riley, Shackelford, Stults, Sturtze and Troncoso.
Catchers (3)
Ardoin, Ellis, May
Infielders (9)
Chavez, Garciaparra, J. Gonzalez, Hu, Lindsey, Martinez, Tiffee, Sweeney
Outfielders (6)
Griffin, Jones, Kemp, Lombard, Paul, Ruan
Overall, it’s a good group of guys that includes four players with more than 10 years of big league service, in addition to some of our most talented younger players who have recently reached the big leagues. We were able to also make sure that the team in Vero Beach is filled with well known players so that the games there continue to be exciting for many reasons, not the least of which are Tommy Lasorda’s role as manager of that team.
Speaking of which, Tommy posted a blog today about his trip to see the former President Bush.
And finally, here’s the lineup for today’s game against the Orioles, with John "T-Bone" Shelby set to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Pierre, LF
Furcal, SS
Martin, C
Kent, 2B
Jones, CF
Loney, 1B
Nomar, 3B
Kemp, RF
Ethier, DH
Billingsley, P
Inside the Dodgers 
Thanks Josh!!! Great info.
I just finished a keeper league draft in a 12 team fantasy baseball league. Let me know what you think of my line-up.
C: Saltalamaccia TEX
1B: Loney LAD
2B: Kendrick LAA
3B: Wright NYM
SS: Hardy MIL
OF: Vlad LAA
OF: Beltran NYM
OF: Kemp LAD
DH: Pence HOU
SP: Penny LAD
SP: Billingsley LAD
SP: Cain SF
SP: Francis COL
RP: Wagner NYM
Other notables:
LaRoche LAD
Kershaw LAD
Kuroda LAD
If I’m only allowed to keep 4 from year to year, who do you think I should end up keeping?
Nice lineup. Keep Billz, Loney, Wright, and Kemp.
thanks jhall, thats what I was leaning towards but Hunter Pence is a tough player to give up especially hitting in front of Berkman, Lee and Tejada.
From the last thread:
ed – I believe its that many of us who have been around since the glory days are tired of seeing the Ds bring in old cows that other GMs have put out to pasture, while shooting our own young bucks that are coming up.
Not all the young guys make it – the Jacksons, Guzmans, and Tiffanys, but the Konerkos and Martinez’ do, and generally wind up on somebody elses roster so that the Loaizas and Gonzos can feed on the Dodger green.
Younger, better and cheaper is preferable to older, lesser and more expensive. Younger also leads to more continuity for a number of years, rather than a mercinary 2 or 3. And the current crop of youngs guys like the D’s have come along once in a blue moon – why do you think all the other GMs covet these guys and are more than willing to give up their veterans to get them?
Think we all want the Ds to win. Its not a question of blind loyalty – that’s for lemings, but the frustration level is mounting for those of us who want to watch the bucks run around and shoot the cows for a change.
Amen, Enchanted!
This seems to be the line up Torre is leaning towards… questionable…..
Hitting Kemp behind Nomar is just strategically wrong.
Pence certainly is not a bad choice. There aren’t many on that roster I wouldn’t want to keep.
Enchanted, you have echoed my feelings exactly on the 20 years of turning one of the most respected and storied franchises in sports into a mediocre entity. What they have been doing for the last 20 years has not been working. It is time to take a different approach.
Orioles vs. Dodgers Play by Play Coming Up
Rob Neyer of espn.com is reporting that the blue is trying to get brandon inge from the tigers??
This makes no sense at all! Please give LaRoche a chance to play everyday!!
Top 1: Orioles Batting: Chad Billingsley Pitching:
Adam Jones strikes out swinging on a sweeping curve ball
Tike Redman flies to Jones in center
Nick Markakis singles to right
Mike Costanzo flies to Kemp in right
0 Runs 1 Hit 1 LOB End of 1/2 inning No Score
This Inge thing is truely ridiculous. C’mon LaRoche and Nomar. I don’t care which one wins the position. Ethier one will put up #’s as good as Inge and we don’t have to give up anything for them. Geez.
thanks again, alex!
Either one. LOL. Been typing Ethier’s name too much.
Unless Detroit is interested in acquiring a leadoff hitter. LOL
jahll, that is the only hope, but ****!, what the heck is Ned thinking!
Dammit, Ned! Let’s have some continuity for once!
Bottom 1: Dodgers Batting: Lefty Brian Burres Pitching:
Juan Pierre singles to right center
Rafael Furcal grounds to third, Pierre advances to second
Pierre steals third
Russell Martin grounds to the pitcher
Jeff Kent singles to left, Pierre scores, Kent out trying to advance to second
1 Run 2 Hits 0 LOB End of 1 1-0 Dodgers
Inge – another cow for the roster. I think its just another rumor. You’ve got the “veteran” in Nomore if you prefer him to LR, why would you need Inge? Just would make no sense at all, especially this early in the spring before you’ve even gotten a decent look at the two guys you’ve got. You’ve also brought the youth movement this far, why go backwards now?
Pierre for left field!!
Sorry, just couldn’t help myself!
Pierre! Pierre!
🙂
Top 2: Orioles Batting: Chad Billingsley Pitching:
Scott Moore doubles to the gap in right center
Moore goes to third on a wild pitch
Ben Davis strikes out swinging
Guillermo Quiroz singles up the middle, Moore scores, 1-1 Tie
Elder Torres flies to Pierre in left
Brandon Fahey flies to Jones in right center
1 Run 2 Hits 1 LOB End of 1 1/2 1-1 Tie
Pierre, you’re one of the top outfielders in the NL. At least that’s what I’m told on this blog…
Hey if Pierre can get his OBP above .360 into the realm of a decent leadoff hitter, most of our malcontent with him will disappear. He would be acceptable. With his below average defense, he needs to have an above average OBP to help the team. There are about 24-25 weeks in the regular season and if Pierre could just get 2 walks per week, his OBP would improve. He gets about one per week now, so one more a week and he is above .350.
Dang it, I was hoping for a little better from Chad. It was still pretty good.
Advertisement: Great LF (batting 1.000 today) for trade or sale. Low mileage, reliable. Swift of foot, high Avg. Trade for anything of value or cash and carry. Well mannered. You won’t regret it– long term contract in place, so no need to negotiate for four years!
Bottom 2: Dodgers Batting: Burres Pitching:
Andruw Jones pops to left
James Loney doubles to deep right
Nomar Garciaparra lines to center
Matt Kemp reaches on an infield single to third, Loney to third
Andre Ethier hits a hard ground ball off the glove of the first baseman, ball deflects to the second baseman who throws it to the pitcher in time for the out
0 Runs 2 Hits 2 LOB End of 2 1-1 Tie
**** that Ethier, he’s so slow!
Kent getting thrown on the bases… classic. But Im sure he has a reason.
well, the way i look at it is at least ethier hits the ball hard enough to be deflected off an infielder’s glove. when JP grounds to first, it’s a piece of cake for the first baseman to handle.
Top 3: Orioles Batting: Jason Johnson Pitching: Ramon Martinez replaces Rafael Furcal at SS (a little early for a change, we’ll see what’s up)
Jones strikes out swinging
Redman grounds to short
Markakis singles up the middle
Costanzo bloops a single to center, Markakis to second
Moore walks, bases loaded
Davis lines to left, Pierre makes a DIVING CATCH to save two runs
0 Runs 2 Hits 3 LOB 1 Huge Play by Juan Pierre End of 2 1/2 1-1 Tie
Who needs Ethier, we’ve got JP!
Pierre! Pierre!
Wait a minute, someone needs to tell us what a terrible route he ran. Then how if there were no outs, he couldn’t have thrown it in, so its lucky there were two outs or we’d be in trouble. 🙂
****! That’s all we need is for Pierre to make a couple of good plays and fool his way into LF.
Bottom 3: Dodgers Batting: Matt Albers Pitching:
Pierre bloops a single to left
Pierre steals second
Ramon Martinez strikes out looking
Martin strikes out looking
Kent strikes out swinging
0 Runs 1 Hit 1 LOB End of 3 1-1 Tie
How’s that for OBP jhall! If it wasn’t for that bum Martin not being able to hit…
You know, playing left field is very different. The ball hooks and he won’t be able to handle it. He gets terrible reads and its embarassing. My 86-year old mother could get better reads. I do have to admit that he’s quicker than she is, but she will go straight to the ball… after it gets by her. And once she gets to the ball, boy howdy can she throw the runner out at third!
Top 4: Orioles Batting: Johnson Pitching:
Quiroz grounds to short
Torres lines softly to short
Fahey lines to Nomar
0 Runs 0 Hits 0 LOB End of 3 1/2 1-1 Tie
Have I summerized the last 24 weeks pretty well?
So far JP is having a great day. He has probably been reading the player ratings and blogs and wants to shut us up. If he does I will be the first to acquiesce. I can’t believe Martinez, Martin, and Kent all struck out. Martinez needed to advance the runner at any cost and give Martin a sacrifice shot. We don’t get alot of productive outs.
Loney is on fire.
Question for Ned
How much money does it cost, salary, food, all things considered to invite
players to spring training?
I think that money would be better spend on the draft, allowing the Dodgers to sign
more players for the few hundred thousands we don’t spend. players like mark melancon in 03,david price in 04,hochevar in 05, or alex white in 06.
That’s what I’m talking about. At least Nomar advanced the runner.
why is furcal out of the game? what did repko do?
Interesting point Frank.
Bottom 4: Dodgers Batting: Albers Pitching:
Jones bloops to second
Loney doubles to deep right (so this guy is good, right? He should batting third any day now)
Garciaparra grounds to third
Kemp grounds to short
0 Runs 1 Hit 1 LOB End of 4 1-1 Tie
another question
I live in Madras Oregon, so a nature question is were the Dodger’s interested in drafting Jacoby Ellsbury in 2005 if he would have feel to you? Had the Dodger’s had talks with him at all?
**** that Kemp. Can’t run the bases and now can’t hit. Maybe now we can platoon him and Ethier like we should be.
Stop it Enchanted! You know that Ned is selectively reading this blog now.
I’m taking some time to see what’s its like living in a parallel universe pro-Pierre reality. Its weird over here… I’m having trouble adjusting… Go Nomar! Go Kent! Go Loaiza!
Wonder when we’re gonna get Inge?
Top 5: Orioles Batting: Matt Riley Pitching: Xavier Paul in center, Terry Tiffee at third, Furcal left with tightness in his hamstrings, nothing serious, it’s spring so they took him out:
Jones homers to deep right center, 2-1 Orioles
Redman flies out to right center
Markakis strikes out looking
Costanzo strikes out swinging
1 Run 1 Hit 0 LOB End of 4 1/2 2-1 Orioles
Inge! Inge!
According to Torre, if we get one more run…we should be good to win!
JP is batting 1.000 today, with a double and a triple.
That was for Junger.
Why play someone like Tiffy at all? Who are we kidding here? Get LaRoche some more practice!
*Tiffee
but who cares
Bottom 5: Dodgers Batting: Randor Bierd Pitching:
Ethier grounds to first
Pierre on a full count grounds to second
Martinez pops to short
0 Runs 0 Hits 0 LOB End of 5 2-1 Orioles
LOL Enchanted. We’re probably stuck with them so I hope they do well.
Too late to trade him now. His perfect record is broken. Besides, he is always a first ball slap hitter.
Full count – way to work the pitcher Pierre!!
I agree Scott. Get Roach some AB’s and reps at 3rd.
Help! I need someone to pull me back from the dark side!
Only the Force (and Obee1) can help you now. It’s your only hope.
Top 6: Orioles Batting: Greg Jones Pitching:
Moore flies out to center
Davis grounds to Loney
Omir Santos pinch hitting for Quiroz pops to third
0 Runs 0 Hits 0 LOB End of 5 1/2 2-1 Orioles
Pierre is your daddy Enchanted.
Agh… world’s colliding… can’t tell reality from fantasy… Nomar…JP…Esteban… Toto…Tin man…Scarecrow & Mrs. King…
everything’s spinning…
Hope it is just the Scotch. LOL
there’s no place like home… there’s no place like home…
Bottom 6: Dodgers Batting: Dennis Sarfate Pitching:
Martin strikes out swinging
Kent grounds to third
Xavier Paul strikes out swinging
0 Runs 0 Hits 0 LOB End of 6 2-1 Orioles
Top 7: Orioles Batting: Brian Shackelford Pitching: Hu at SS, Martinez at 2B, Ardoin catching:
Torres flies to Kemp
Fahey grounds to Loney
Luis Terrero pinch hitting for Jones lines to second
0 Runs 0 Hits 0 LOB End of 6 1/2 2-1 Orioles
As I was saying, there’s no way we trade for another cow like Inge…
Bottom 7: Dodgers Batting: Greg Aquino Pitching:
Loney lines off the glove of Aquino who recovers and throws Loney out (Loney is killing the ball today)
Tiffee grounds to second
Kemp strikes out swinging
0 Runs 0 Hits 0 LOB End of 7 2-1 Orioles
I would trade Bloaiza for Inge straight up.
I seem to have lost 2 hours. Where am I? How’d I get here?
anyone see this espn piece on nomar?http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=pearlman/080303
I’d trade a ham sandwich for Bloaiza.
Top 8: Orioles Batting: Ramon Troncoso Pitching:
Oscar Salazar grounds to LaRoche at third
Chris Roberson grounds out
Mike Costanzo homers to left, 3-1 Orioles
Moore reaches on an infield single to second
Davis doubles to right, Moore scores, 4-1 Orioles
Chris Heintz grounds to second
2 Runs 3 Hits 1 LOB End of 7 1/2 4-1 Orioles
Make that Bloaiza for a ham sanwich.
Jspelk…I read the piece.
Seems like a load of c-r-a-p coming from a disgruntled sportswriter.
By all accounts, Nomar has always been great with the fans. Perhaps he was having a bad day, but thats still no excuse to write a whole piece smearing a guys reputation.
Nomar is frequently at charity event, caravan tours, and autograph sessions. Heck, he even throws post-game Carne Asada parties FOR THE FANS.
This Pearlman guy is a complete hack!
Bottom 8: Dodgers Batting: Rocky Cherry Pitching:
Ethier flies to left
Delwyn Young strikes out swinging
Martinez walks
Mark Sweeney pinch hits for Ardoin lines to second
0 Runs 0 Hits 1 LOB End of 8 4-1 Orioles
Our offense is just pathetic other than Loney today.
Top 9: Orioles Batting: Eric Hull Pitching:
Torres flies to Repko
Fahey singles
Terrero loops to Hu
Salazar forces Fahey (LaRoche to Martinez)
0 Runs 1 Hit 1 LOB End of 8 1/2 4-1 Orioles
You mean, other than Pierre and Loney! 🙂
Thanks manny, thats what I thought. Still, its a curious read. Yeah, our offense should be able to do better against Oriole pitched. Cmon now.
*Oriole pitching
shepherd96: No, I don’t.
Not even at 100% of our run production? He and Kent, that is.
ROFLMAO!
A guy that came into the game hitting less than a buck gets two singles…big whoop. Give me Loney and his doubles power + .500 average any day of the week.
Alright Andre. He has been hitting the ball well but right at people. Ironic,needed that Pierresque blooper to bust out.
Bonus Baseball!!!!!!!!!!
Bottom 9: Dodgers Batting: Esteban Yan Pitching:
Chin-lung Hu walks on a full count
Paul HOMERS to deep left, Hu scores, 4-3 Dodgers
Andy LaRoche singles to left
(Craig Anderson relieves Yan)
John Lindsay pinch hits for Tiffee fouls out to first
Jason Repko strikes out swinging
LaRoche to second on a passed ball
Ethier bloops a single to left, LaRoche scores, 4-4 Tie, Lombard runs for Ethier
Lombard steals second
Young grounds to short
3 Runs 3 Hits 1 LOB End of 9 4-4 Tie
Raffy was taken out because he felt some tightness in his hamstring. Sounded like it was nothing serious, just precautionary.
Thanks again Alex for the play by play summaries.
See? Ethier better than Pierre.
Who Xavier Paul in the “first Dodger ST HR in a game” pool? You win.
Hard to believe that is our only HR so far. Gonna have to remedy that.
Is it me, or does Ramon Martinez seem to be getting an awful lot of playing time for an NRI?
Go Andre!!
Dcollins,
I hope you are recovering well. Good to hear your Dr. gave the Ok to go on with your trip to Vero. I am posting the list of restautants I promised you. Here is what my friend said:
“”Here is a list of inexpensvie to moderately priced restaurants in and about Vero.
Barbecue–Bono’s 1500 US1, Rip’s on Ocean Drive, Norris’ south on US1 (almost to Fort Pierce.)
Varied Menu–CJ Cannon’s at Vero Airport next to Dodgertown, Mrs. Mac’s Filling Station 951 Old Dixie Highway, Old Dixie Diner 1436 Old Dixie Hwy, Old Town Cafe, 2555 27th Ave. next to Dodgertown, Patio Restaurant 1103 21st St., Toojay’s 555 21st St., Mulligan’s Ocean Dr at Sexton Plaza
Breakfast/Lunch–Tomkat’s 1918 14th Avenue My personal favorite for breakfast or lunch!
Italian–Italian Delight US1 & 6th Ave. Very Inexpensive, low key, no atmosphere, cash only, Vincent’s 510 21st St., Italian Grill 2180 58th Ave close to d’town
Seafood–Lobster Shanty 1 Royal Palm Pt., Mr. Manatees 30 Royal Palm Pt.
Mexican–Ay Jalisco 1909 20th St.
Chinese–Linn’s Garden on US1
Wings–Hurricane Wings on US1
More Expensive, but good.
Steak–14th Avenue Steak House 2023 14th Ave, Hardwood Grill north on US1 at Winter Beach
Seafood–Ocean Grill Ocean Drive at Sexton Plaza
Varied–The Tides 3103 Cardinal Dr., Bobby’s 3450 Ocean Drive (Lasorda hangout)”” -Emma
Top 10: Orioles Batting: Jon Meloan Pitching:
Roberson pops to Hu
Costanzo strikes out looking
Moore singles to right
Davis strikes out on a filthy breaking ball
0 Runs 1 Hit 1 LOB End of 9 1/2 4-4 Tie
Bottom 10: Dodgers Batting: Kameron Mickolio: This will be the final at bat no matter what:
Martinez walks on a full count
Gary Bennett sacrifices to first, Martinez advances to second
Hu grounds to second, Martinez to third
Paul walks on a full count after a lengthy battle with Mickolio
LaRoche strikes out swinging
0 Runs 0 Hits 2 LOB Game ends in a 4-4 tie
Orioles
4 10 0
Dodgers
4 9 0
Time of Game: 3:09
Thanks Alex!!!
I’ll have play by play of tomorrow afternoon’s home split squad game starting at 4 p.m pacific against the Nationals. Thanks to everybody, I hope you enjoy the play by play.
It’s great Alex.
thanks alex
Hey:alex41592@aol.com ..Where
do you live. I live in San Marcos, so if I subscribe to any Dodger games, I’ll be Blacked out ( By the Padres).
Perhaps
if I subscribe to yours, I may luck out. I would really appreciate your help…..Thanks…..Pat..
Pierre MVP!
MVP! MVP! MVP!
Triple, Double, Game saving defense! & A very Japanese tie game (where were Kuroda and Saito?).
|:^)>
where are you getting a double and a triple from? He hit two singles. And thanks alex so much for the in-game!
Your 1986 Dodgers (please do not have food in your mouth during viewing)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW7q0JzWaoY
From DodgerBlues.com
Nah! That was for Jungar’s benefit. He ended up on third and second due to his base running didn’t he?
Jungar said that there is a huge difference. In this game, there was no difference. Bunt single, advance to second on a grounder to third, steal third: Triple!
Next time up. Opposite field bloop single, steal second: Double!
I gotta admit that Ethier’s bloop single looked better on the page, but who’s counting among friends?
And yes, I am teasing. |:^0>
I want to see Young on the team, but he is not cooperating very well at the plate. He is acquitting himself well in the field, however.
Ya gotta have fun. It is a game you know!
Fan: Short for fanatic.
Hey if Pierre wants to play good baseball it’s all right by me. Last three years he hasn’t. What are ya gonna do. Hope he does play good ball I guess.
no not i guess. i do. no really, believe it or not. just get on base more..
shep i hear ya, but if he hits a homerun, he dosent need an out to advance him and a steal and someoneone else to score him.
u know at least now and then.
if he hits a triple in 2nd ab that out is a run right there that type thing.
but he had a great spring training game i give him that.
As long as JP is wearing Dodger blue, I’ll root for him. I’d just rather root for him to pinch run.
Hey, the guy’s got something like 1 HR per 700 AB. That’s more than me.
Jungar, I bet u liked the diving catch with bases loaded! Seems like his arm was strong enough that time– he didn’t drop it. Ha!
scott…that video is truly frightening. The only thing I kept thinking to myself was thank heavens Gibby showed up when he did, albeit two years later. For the record…Dodgers finished 23 games behind Astros in 1986. That video perhaps sheds light as to why!!!
Gibson brought a football mentality to the team that really helped them. They were tough, scrappy, and never say die in 1988. I would love to see that attitude today.
My favorite player from the 1988 team was Micky Hatcher, the goofball. He kept Gibson and the team loose.
If they hadn’t won the WS, it might not seem as funny now. But, since they did win the WS and Hatcher was the team goofball, it makes him especially endearing. It makes for a great story.
Here’s my version of the smart Dodgers starting lineup for 2008:
Furcal
Martin
Kemp
Jones
Loney/Kent (Out of respect for Kent’s seniority)
Kent/Loney
Ethier
LaRoche
Give Pierre the start over Ethier and bat him second when Martin needs a day off with the catcher dropping to the #8 spot, and LaRoche moving to #7. All the other starters should start virtually every day.
I like this lineup because it best utilizes the talents of each player.
Furcal — Good OBP, Good Doubles Power, Speed
Martin — A good balance of BA, Power, and Speed, and the discipline to be a #2 hitter
Kemp — The best combination on the team of BA, Power, and Speed
Jones — Excellent power, Some speed
Loney — Excellent BA/OBP, Moderate Power, Little Speed
Kent — Pretty Good BA, Some Power. Anything lower than sixth in this lineup will cause Kent to develop an attitude problem. Inasmuch as he’s a future Hall-of-Famer, and currently about Ethier’s equal, let him bat sixth.
Ethier — Solid BA, Some Power.
LaRoche — Excellent Plate Discipline/OBP, BA and Power To Be Determined
Man, I thought for a minute I clicked on an archived thread from August 2007…still talking about Pierre every third posting.
martinloneykemp – Kent with an attitude problem? – Shirley you gest.
Your probably the only one so far that agrees with me that Kemp should bat third. My reasoning is, Jones protects him in the line-up and he has speed to stay out of double plays, plus power to boot. Perfect 3-man. Loney in the 5 spot is good – keeps from stringing the three righties together. Kent should hit 6, but definately not clean-up like Torre has him doing right now.
Nice to see even Gurnick thinks the Inge trade is preposterous. Might be Ned’s kinda guy though – can’t hit and has three more years left on his contract at $17m+. Detroit loved him so much they got Cabrera to play 3B.
OBP watch:
JP .231 NG .300
AE .357 AL .455
Note that the 1988 team didn’t have ANYONE with a SLG of .500. Gibson had the highest SLG at .483 and 76 RBI. Marshall led the team with 82 RBI , but only a SLG of .445, second among the starters.
I think that points out that pitching wins games and WS at Dodger Stadium. Hershiser pitched 267 innings at 2.26 ERA, something we may never see again. The game has changed. With Saito, Broxton, Beimel, Proctor, and the rest of the pen, the Ds could piece together a great staff in a new way. The starters have the capability to dominate.
We don’t necessarily need the best hitting team, like we had in 1977. It sure would be nice, but not necessary to going deep in the playoffs. Incidentally, Gibson led the team in scoring with 106 runs, 31 SB, and .377 OBP in 1988. Sax had 70 runs, 42 SB, and an OBP of .325. Shelby had 65 runs, 16 SB, and .320 OBP. Marshall scored 63 runs, with a .314 OBP. That was it. They were the leaders in scoring.
I bet Gibson would have appreciated an OF hitting in front of him with 96 runs, 64 SB, and .331 OBP. Remember, 1988 was the last Dodger team to win the WS. So much for conventional wisdom about hitting and OBP. Perhaps we should appreciate Kent, Pierre, Kemp, Loney, Martin, Furcal, and now Jones, who are all better than any of the 1988 team, save Gibson. Nomar vs. LaRoche at third comes back into perspective, too (who could forget Hamilton and Woodson– I have). The starting SS in 1988 had an avg. of .199 and a SLG of .253– his replacement had an avg. of .249. The games are won one at a time, by scrapping for every run, offensively and defensively.
Pitching wins.
And don’t call me Shirley. Or Surely. Or Surly.
Orel was unconscious in 1988. Rather, the hitters he faced were rendered unconscious. 59 scoreless innings coming down the stretch to end the season. That is 6 straight shutouts plus. And he went 10 innings in the final game to break Big D’s record. With Drysdale’s support and blessing. If I recall, Don implored him to get back out there and go for the record as Orel was considering leaving after the 9th with 58 scoreless. Big D had 58 2/3. Class acts both of them.
Better than average defense and Belcher probably had his best season. Gutsy team. I also loved Hatcher and the stuntmen. That team played fundamentally sound baseball and didn’t beat themselves. Something we need to emulate now.
Whoops! That was more than three postings.
Pierre.
That Pearlman article at ESPN was a jaw-dropper for me. maybe he had a bad day or something, but he’s always seemed like a fan-friendly guy to me since he’s been with the Dodgers.
knoffbrock- I didn’t think many would see the pics since it was a late night post before gameday. But I know I thought it was odd to see a post-1939 Brooklyn jersey that was drastically different than the jerseys the Dodgers wear today. the Uniwatch blog also had pics of Cardinals and Braves satin jerseys, but I can’t find them now.
one more thing: It’s taken me a while to get used to Joe Torre in Dodger Blue, but looking at the 6th picture in Jon SooHoo’s 3-3-08 gallery, he looks like he’s already comfortable in his new job. Thanks again to Jon SooHoo for keeping us connected with his daily galleries.
I would like to see LaRoche and Ethier win the starting positions but I am also rooting for Pierre and Nomar. If Pierre and Nomar have great seasons and are getting the job done, I will have no qualm with them starting. Also, I believe if they are performing well, Ned will not make a panic trade for the likes of Inge, etc….
Ethier and LaRoche will be available if they are not getting it done. We need Kuo to stay healthy and solidify that 5th starter spot. That will also avert another Ned panic move.
You can easily see how much smarter Joe is. There is no where else you can bat Pierre but leadoff. I think that Abreu should go to China so Joe can keep an eye on him. He better hurry up and get better, because it looks like DY has the inside track. Maybe if he’s lucky DY may take 3rd and leave 2nd up for grabs next year. Maybe not everbody agrees with me but I hope they re-sign Furcal. No reason to open up another spot. Having 3rd unoccupied is enough already. Next year second will probably be vacant. If we lose both these vets I hope to heck we solve the 3rd base delimer before this year ends. I know we have plenty of talent but I hope we make it one base at a time. I think it’s Ethier vs Kemp since it looks like JP has gotten the “stamp of approval”
Torre can say whatever he wants about JP, Ive got a whole season worth of play—not just the stats , but seeing him play—to tell me he isn’t any good. And at his age, he isn’t suddenly getting any better. If the D’s want to shoot themselves in the foot by going with him, guess theres nothing more to say. And yeah, there is somewhere else he can bat–9th. If you want to think about it like this, the “leadoff” hitters are still back to back, but JP has far fewer AB’s that way, which really needs to happen.
Nobody knows what will happen thruout the course of the season, but right now it looks like Joe is satisfied with him. I hope Torre doesn’t lean on the consecutive game streak and gives Ethier a chance to show himself in left but it seems to me that he will be sharing time with Kemp. On a positive note, Joe likes to give his players rest. He had the advantage of the DH over here. Maybe he will use the score of games to dictate how he moves the players around. I know the double switch will be an asset.
Orel was great in 1988, but won *only* 23 games. It is a team sport and they played as a team, picking each other up as the need arose. They were good at situational hitting, but they didn’t score much. Gibson, the best hitter, had 1 AB in the WS. They took the loss of Gibson in stride and just won.
I loved that with 94 wins, they knocked off the awesome A’s, who had 104 wins. They did it without Gibson, and they did it fearlessly. Of course, it helped that Hershiser won 2 WS complete games. But teammates had to win two other games, and they did. Belcher gives up a Granny to Canseco in Game 1 and comes back to win game 4. Hatcher hits HR #2 of his season in game 1 and #3 of his season in game 5.
I think the best we can hope for is that Pierre can get his OBP above .350 this year. I know it is a long shot but that is really the only way that he becomes a sensible option to lead off and play left. I think the writing is on the wall and he will be given the leftfield starting position. If his OBP is .350 or higher it will be tolerable. It really needs to be .360 or higher to make it acceptable given his weak defense.
Opening day line up prediction:
Pierre
Furcal
Kent
Jones
Nomar
Martin
Loney
Kemp
Penny
I’ll play:
Furcal
Martin
Kemp
Jones
Kent
Loney
Garciapara
Ethier
Penny
Just can’t see putting a roadblock like Loney in front of our fastest runner, Kemp.
Guys Torre already pretty much said Martin Jones and Kent will be 345 in some order, not that I agree with that… IMO his lineups won’t be any better than Grady’s, except at the end of the year Grady gave up and finally put the right lineup out.
Pierre will have to get on base to be worth anything to this team. If his OBP is down that will be his downfall. He has to use his speed on the basepaths. This is what Colletti & Torre love about him. He also must use his speed to get on base. Laying down bunts has to be something he can do well. I think he doesn’t walk enough because pitchers have no fear of him making contact because of his warning track power. They’ll always be around the plate. As far as his fielding, aside from his weak arm he’s a good outfielder because even if he doesn’t get a good jump on the ball, his speed makes up for it. Like I always say he would be better off as an infielder, unfortunately he plays with his glove on his right hand.
Because the 3-4-5 slots are so much the heart and soul of a line-up, I’d rather Martin not be there, given his inevitable weekly rests and the subsequent disruption it might cause to the flow of the order. Someone blogged a couple days ago suggesting Pierre be given Martin’s spot once a week. Works for me!
The ’88 Dodgers won because of pitching. They got an unexpected career year out of Tim Leary (2.91 ERA, 1.124 WHIP – only one other year did he have an ERA in the 3s or better and his next lowest WHIP was in the 1.3s), studly ROY pitching from Belcher, deadline acquisition John Tudor had a 2.41 ERA down the stretch with LA winning 7 of his 10 starts, and the bullpen was extremely effective, LA relief innings: 2.35 ERA.
They put up a 3.32 ERA against the Mets and a 2.03 (!) against the A’s.
Great pitching allows you to get away with scraptastic offenses, but it leaves a very small margin of error. Just look at the next year. Every pitcher that started a game, except John Wetteland, had an ERA of 3.43 or better, with Orel, Belcher and Mike Morgan in the 2s. Dodger relief ERA was 2.75 – pretty darn good. Team finished under .500.
Also, Dodger Stadium was still a pitcher’s park in those days, but it is a slight hitter’s park now, with seats occupying what used to be large areas of foul territory.
“I think he doesn’t walk enough because pitchers have no fear of him making contact because of his warning track power.”
Posted by: pierreseastmeetswest@yahoo.com | March 3, 2008 08:34 PM
But Joe P., pitchers didn’t fear Brett Butler’s minimal power either and he walked a lot. I think the problem is JP doesn’t know how to wait on pitches long enough to foul off the pitcher’s pitches like Butler did; instead, JP rolls those over as weak right-side grounders or pops them up.
You are right that he needs to use his speed. Another way to do that is to hit more the other way; he can beat out a lot more grounders toward the SS side than the 2B side. His speed is a great, but underutilized thing, because he hit to optimize it and doesn’t get on base enought.
Batting order importance is overrated, but – and I’m a big Kemp fan – I would not bat Kemp third. He walks so little, which makes his OBP heavily batting average dependent. Even though his career BA is .312, his OBP is .344, which, IMO, is not high enough for a 3 hitter.
Old Man Kent has had a .375 or better OBP the last three seasons, with power. He’s slow as molasses in January, but I’m ok with him #3, at least until he can’t hit anymore.
I think I’d go with:
Furcal
Martin
Kent
Jones
Loney
Kemp
Ethier
LaRoche
Pitcher
If forced to play Pierre instead of Ethier, I bat him 9th, a la Tony LaRussa, and move LaRoche and the pitcher up one spot.
I’m sorry, but saying I liked Pierre’s game against us in 2003 is like saying I liked Custer’s game before, you know, Little Big Horn.
Going into that ninth they seriously thought they were pretty much winning the WS right there. eck comin in who was gagne before roids, goin up 1-0 on the road..The dodgers a big underdog….So they very much did it with Gibson but as you say a total team effort. Yeah that was a scrappy team. Orel was amazing. Gibby was amazing..in the playoffs for me it was Scoccia vs Doc Gooden (who was just filthy at the time) and and he goes yard in like the 8th inning…that was almost as much of a suprise and back breaker.
Hatcher in 88 playoff (40ab).300/.364/.525
And yeah honestly, Juan Pierre would be better for that team than this team, absolutely. Pierre is great if you plan not to have that good of an offense or more likely understand you don’t. The dodger offense will again be iffy until we have a proven .300/.400/500 guy in the center of our order. Loney, Kemp and LaRoach are those guys soon..Kent and to lesser extend Jones were…but the jury is out who will be this year. I wish they would throw them in there like this..this is my lineup if I could
Furcal
martin
Loney
Kemp
Kent
Jones
Ethier
LaRoche
Torre this year will give Pierre the opportunity and he is better for leadoff than 2nd as Pierresweet points out. But I don’t think Joe will stand for a low OBP. I really don’t. We will see it seems…
Joe thinks it’s 2003 I guess for Juan. And yeah Butler could have 15 pitch AB’s like once a game it seemed. Do you guys ever recall Pierre doing that…so yeah i wish he would do that, foul balls off, bunt etc ..The problem is for him is that you pitch to contact with him. You want him to hit it hard and I am not insulting him. He needs choppers in the infield or fly balls that aren’t hit right that fall and grounders between 3b/ss but again not trying to be neg but it seems he dosen’t do those things. It’s either. a pretty quick ground ball thru the right side. or a ground ball out to ss/2b or short fly to lf. like take some pitches, make him work..yeah i loved watching Butler..Pierre not so much(obviously)
In blue Butler posted OBP’s of 413, 387, 411, 368, 363
enchantedsunset – LOL. I saw that quote too. If JP still had his 2003 (or 2004) game, there wouldn’t be all this debate. Unfortunately, that was five (and four) seasons ago.
You left out a couple of Butler’s OBPs:
401, 413, 387, 411, 368*, 313**, 363***
* only 178 PAs
** only 145 PAs, started with Mets, 381 OBP
*** his age 40 year!
Butler played to his talents. Seems like JP plays against them.
yeah i left out those that werent full seasons…we would all be stoked if he played as if it was 03..i’d be the first to eat crow. I’d be willing to bet alot it won’t happen though.
or 100 games..whatever..u know what I mean.
jungar – consistent 300/400/500? man, that’s tough criteria. In the past four seasons (1600 PA min.) exactly 8 guys have averaged that:
Bonds
Pujols
Ortiz
ARod
Lance Berkman
ManRam
Chipper Jones
Todd Helton
Relaxing to 290/380/480 gets up to 17 guys, adding:
Travis Hafner
Ryan Howard
Vlad
Miggy
Derrek Lee
David Wright
Magglio Ordonez
Matt Holiday
Bobby Abreu
BTW Jeff Kent as a Dodger: .294 .379 .498 (three seasons)
it would be rad if Kuo could stay healthy.
My dream batting order:
Furcal
Martin
Kemp
Loney
Jones
Kent
Ethier
LaRoche
Pitcher
In reality I project:
Pierre
Furcal
Nomar
Kent
Jones
Martin
Loney
Kemp
Pitcher
Brett Butler was a joy to watch. He also played a better than average centerfield.
Tomorrow’s early split squad road game against the Nationals will be streamed on MLB.TV starting at 10 a.m. I will have play by play of the night cap home split squad game against the Nationals at 4 p.m. But, who knows I worked quite well balancing my paper while doing the play by play, so I may do both games because I’ll be in front of my computer anyway working again. We’ll see for now just the night cap.
Good for you Alex. Working and watching/listening to the game. You are blessed and we are also to have you on this blog.
true fogey. tough standars. we can relax, or have a combo of those guys. maybe the three with less power but the obp and the four with less obp and more slug type thing.
imagine throwing sheff (without the sheffness) in there. gosh he hit so good with us. what a joy to watch even though he had sheffness.
Did u guys see we are not looking at Inge per LA times.
Battle Stations stand down.
So what your saying old fogey is if Pierre would be more selective at the plate he would see more balls and there is a possibility that he would walk more often. You know you could say that about the rest of the batting order. If they walked more often they’d score more runs. Pitchers would even be forced to pitch to them. Maybe that would eliminated those long scoreless droughts.
Well, it is obvious that we need to take more pitches and learn how to work the count. Even when you make an out the pitcher has to work harder and show all his pitches. When it is the starting pitcher it can often mean the difference between getting in a rythm and going 6 to 7 innings or not finding that groove and only going 5. Usually, a teams middle relief is a very weak spot. Plus, getting that starter out of there early puts tremendous pressure on the bullpen, especially in Aug, Sept from the cumulative effect and overwork. Look what happened to us last year in Aug/Sept because our starters could not consistantly get us into the 6th or 7th inning. Our bullpen wore out.
A lot of things a team’s lineup has to do is exactly what the Rockies, D’Backs & Padres were doing at the end of last year’s run. Sometimes I couldn’t help but admire them. Many say the pitching was doing it but I didn’t think so.
I agree PierreEW, the Rockies were exciting to watch. They had plate discipline and at least made productive outs most of the time. Something we had no clue about.
Gurnick published tomorrow’s pitching schedule:
Day: “Esteban Loaiza will open, followed by youngsters James McDonald, Cory Wade, Mario Alvarez and Justin Orenduff”
Night: “Hiroki Kuroda … followed by … Jonathan Broxton, Joe Beimel and Scott Proctor”. “Brazoban expected” to appear and “Miller could return”.
http://www2.sgvtribune.com/sports/ci_8443901
LOL
It’s mypopic at it’s finest.
Poor Ethier didn’t stand a chance.
this is my dream lineup
furcal
martin
loney
jones
kent
nomar
kemp
ethier
penny
this is what opening day will be
peirre
furcal
martin
jones
kent
loney
nomar
kemp
penny
all in all doesnt matter dodgers own with pierre/laroche in the lineup or not. the dodgers dont really have any holes on offense. having to decide between peirre and ethier is an advantage!!!!! a lot of teams dont have the luxrury that the dodgers have right now.
My hypocrisy knows no bounds – I’m going to talk about my thoughts on Pierre and Torre. (But just this once – I think.)
Although most of us agree that Ethier should be our LF starter, if Torre chooses Pierre for whatever reason, I see one upgrade already over Grady’s lineups. I always thought Little should have swapped Furcal and Pierre, having Pierre bat first as he seems to hit better with no one on. It seems that Torre will do that, at least. It will provide more opportunities for Pierre to steal, as Furcal is more patient behind him; and it will provide many more opportunities for Pierre to score from first, as Furcal will hit many more gappers than will Pierre.
Little always talked about how he liked the possibility of two speedsters “wreaking havoc” on the defense, but I thought that he had the two speedsters completely backwards in the lineup. It is POSSIBLE that even if JP only puts up 2007-type numbers, he will be more effective in the #1 hole where he’s used to playing, and Furcal having a 2006-type season will probably help JP score 100+.
Sam, I’m going to differ with you on the no holes in the line-up theory…
JP at the top of our line-up is an out machine. Sure he may get close to 200 hits, but look at how many plate appearences it takes him to get them. Plus, from his 500 outs, a huge majority of them are unproductive. He also can’t work deep into a count to make the pitcher work a little, and for a little guy with speed, he won’t use his god given ability and hit to the left side, but rather pulls it to hit weak grounders and soft pop-ups.
Nomar we don’t have to worry as much about because come mid-May when he goes on the DL for the first time, LR will get to play. In the meantime though, he’s a first pitch hack that makes Kent look like the world’s most patient hitter. What was he the other day 3 ABs and saw 4 pitches? There’s a lot of hackers in addition to Nomar, so It won’t be a problem for most decent starters to go deep into the game.
If Torre insists on batting Kemp 8th, he’s also insuring his failure and wasting his ability. With the pitcher batting behind him, its doubtful he’ll ever see much to hit, and he doesn’t have the experience and plate discipline to lay-off bad pitches trying to get something to hit.
Not trying to be negative, just realistic. Only thing that’s going to keep us in games with the current alignment is pitching, and that goes south too if one of the top 4 SPs goes down ala Schmidt, or god forbid anything happens to Brox or Saito.
Defense – no range at second and third, and no arm in left.
Again, not trying to be the prophet of doom, just not seeing a line-up that makes it past 3rd or 4th in the west.
I don’t care that Jp plays, I care that my GM is such a *******.
To score 125, u cant make 500 plus outs
The old lady enjoys a quiet life with her family.We just caught the plane.Keep in Touch.I don’t doubt that he will help me.I think so.Many young girls dream of being a fashion model.Many young girls dream of being a fashion model.It’s too good to be true!It’s up to you.Who but Jack would do such a thing?